Masters adds Amazon coverage
Amazon became only the Masters’ fourth-ever media partner and will carry two hours of exclusive coverage on Thursday and Friday, while other rights remain split across ESPN, CBS and streaming platforms. Augusta National is expanding digital clips and social distribution but still tightly curates access to preserve the event’s premium feel. (cnbc.com) (techradar.com)
The Masters spent most of its television life acting like a club that only opens one door at a time. In 2026, Augusta National added Amazon Prime Video as just its fourth media partner ever and gave it the first two live hours on Thursday, April 9, and Friday, April 10. (cnbc.com) Those two hours run from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time on both days, and then ESPN takes over from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for the rest of the first and second rounds. CBS still owns the weekend window, with third- and final-round coverage on Saturday and Sunday. (aboutamazon.com) (cbssports.com) That makes Amazon an addition, not a replacement. Augusta National kept its old partners, stretched the total viewing day, and sold the new slice without giving up the parts that already define the tournament on cable and broadcast television. (cnbc.com) (gwaa.com) The Masters has always treated media rights differently from the rest of sports. The tournament first aired on CBS in 1956, added USA Network in 1982 for early-round coverage, and replaced USA with ESPN in 2008, so the partner list stayed unusually short for decades. (cnbc.com) That scarcity is part of the product. Augusta National has long preferred fewer partners, fewer cameras, and tighter control over what gets shown, which is one reason the Masters still feels less like a 24-hour sports channel and more like an event that appears on its own terms. (cnbc.com) Even with Amazon coming in, Augusta did not throw open the gates. Masters.com and the Masters app still carry the tournament’s custom streams, including Featured Groups, Amen Corner, Holes 4, 5 and 6, and Holes 15 and 16, which means the club is expanding access mostly through outlets it can still shape itself. (masters.com) (golf.com) Amazon also got a version of the coverage that fits streaming better than old television. Prime Video added an “Inside Amen Corner” feed with ball-flight tracking and swing analysis, plus a Monday night preview show before tournament play began on April 9. (aboutamazon.com) (golfweek.usatoday.com) The social-media rules moved too, but only a little. CNBC reported that Augusta National now lets media partners post clips to social platforms after the live window ends, which is a meaningful change for a tournament that has historically kept highlight sharing on a short leash. (cnbc.com) So the 2026 deal is not the Masters turning into a normal modern sports property. It is Augusta National taking one careful step toward the way people now watch sports, while still deciding exactly which step, which screen, and which two-hour window. (cnbc.com)
